(This rant is expanded from a comment in a different thread.)
Plenty of senators and congresscritters and fools are getting up and saying that the deficit means stealing from future generations. I think they're ignoring the fact that not spending is stealing from our children and in a much greater way.
Here's what we REALLY owe our children:
(1) Education. We need to educate them, so that they will be ready to compete in the world to come. This means funding teachers and investing in schools
(2) Health. We need to make sure that they are healthy, so that they will be ready to compete in the world to come. This means:
(a) Health insurance, so that they can go to the doctor
(b) A place and a means to exercise, whether it be at schools, at community centers, or parks or playgrounds. It's important to exercise while young, for this sets your body for life
(c) Health education, so they know how to take care of themselves
(3) Food and products that we can trust are safe to eat and to use
(4) The means and the know-how not to get pregnant, so that they can finish their schooling
(5) A country where we have already solved the worst problems facing us, such as energy dependence, polluted air and a screwed-up environment. We have to stop procrastinating on these issues.
(6) A country which is hopefully at peace with the rest of the world
As for the deficit, yes, it's important, but you know what? It's only money, and money is far less important than these other issues. Without resolving these issues, our country declines. If you're one of those selfish creeps thinking just about your own pocket, well, consider this: the investment in the next generation may just help provide for your old age, by making people who can take care of us when we get old.
We only steal from our children if we refuse to make the needed investment.